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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · bass · firm · leaves · shower · capital · object · snap

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. object — an aim
  3. capital — a city
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. firm — a company
  6. object — a thing
  7. bass — the fish
  8. firm — steady
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. shower — to wash
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — ground
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — low music
  19. capital — money
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. object — to protest
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — decided

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com